How to See the Northern Lights — Why They're Showing Up More Often (and Where to Watch Tonight)

How to See the Northern Lights — Why They're Showing Up More Often

No matter how many times you witness them, the northern lights (aurora borealis) and their Southern Hemisphere counterpart (aurora australis) remain a haunting, beautiful phenomenon. They drift silently in Earth’s upper atmosphere as shimmering curtains and bands of green, red, and sometimes blue or purple light.

Tonight's forecast

Tonight, many people across the northern United States — including parts of the Midwest — may see a particularly strong display. Around mid-day on November 12, coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are expected to reach Earth. When those electrically charged particles strike our atmosphere, states as far south as Illinois could be treated to vivid auroras. Forecasters say as many as 21 states — from Alaska and Montana to New England and New York — may see colorful skies.

While auroras might be visible through the night, the prime viewing window is expected to be between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. Central Time.

Why they're more common now

The sun is in the middle of a solar maximum — the peak phase of its roughly 11-year activity cycle — when sunspots and solar storms are more frequent. Larger and more frequent solar storms increase the chance that charged particles will flood Earth’s atmosphere and expand the auroral zone well beyond its usual latitudes.

How auroras form

Both the northern and southern lights are produced when the solar wind — a stream of charged particles from the sun — collides with Earth’s magnetic field. That interaction drives currents of charged particles toward the poles, where some ions become trapped in the ionosphere. There they collide with atmospheric atoms (mainly oxygen and nitrogen), transferring energy and "exciting" those atoms; when the atoms release that energy, it leaves as photons — particles of light.

An aurora's colors indicate altitude and the gases involved. Red auroras typically come from high altitudes (around 150 miles / 240 kilometers), where excited oxygen emits red photons slowly and with little interference. Green light — the most common color — is emitted in denser layers about 60 to 150 miles (100 to 240 km) above Earth. In the lower atmosphere (below ~60 miles / 100 km), molecular nitrogen produces purplish and blue tones.

Where to watch

The best places to see auroras are inside the "auroral zone," roughly between 60° and 75° latitude in each hemisphere. A narrower, more active band around 65°–70° includes locations such as Fairbanks, Alaska, and Tromsø, Norway; the broader zone includes Anchorage, Alaska, and Yellowknife, Canada.

Dark, clear skies far from city lights are essential. In the Southern Hemisphere, good options are Antarctica, Tasmania, or southern New Zealand (during their autumn and winter). In the North, prime viewing areas include Fairbanks; Churchill, Manitoba; and Lapland in northern Sweden and Finland.

Predicting aurora activity and risks

One simple heuristic is to count about 27 days from a recent auroral event — that’s roughly how long it takes the sun to rotate, so a sunspot that produced activity may come back into view. Because sunspot activity follows an ~11-year cycle, some years naturally bring more auroras than others. The current solar maximum (the recent upswing began around 2019) has raised the likelihood of strong storms that can push auroras farther south than usual.

Strong solar storms not only create spectacular skies — they can also disrupt power grids, radio communications, and GPS systems. Scientists have even examined possible effects on animal navigation.

Historic note: The largest recorded solar storm, the 1859 "Carrington Event," produced auroras visible as far south as Cuba and as far north as Santiago, Chile. Contemporary observers described the lights in dramatic, sometimes apocalyptic terms.

Whether you’re a first-time viewer or a seasoned aurora chaser, clear, dark skies and patience are your best friends. Keep an eye on space weather forecasts and local cloud cover to increase your chances of catching a memorable display.